Earthbound gets a lot more serious towards the end. The storyline's immensely deep, and the fact that they carry it with genuinely good, directed humor -- humor that employs irony and sharp wit instead of stupid jokes, bad reference, and needless parody -- is, I believe, a testament to the game's excellent quality. Furthermore, the way they contrast the humorous, satirical bits with the more serious, philosphical parts strengthens both aspects of the storyline. It's a delicate, dangerous balance, and Ape pulled it off.

I think, most importantly, is the game's sense of humanity. The humor added to this, most definitely, but so did Itoi's personal input. There was an actual person behind the game, and not some mysterious team of writers. It's immense personality was, above all else, what I believe made the story so memorable.

Logged

o/` I do not feel joy o/`o/` I do not dream o/`o/` I only stare at the door and smoke o/`

Earthbound gets a lot more serious towards the end. The storyline's immensely deep, and the fact that they carry it with genuinely good, directed humor -- humor that employs irony and sharp wit instead of stupid jokes, bad reference, and needless parody -- is, I believe, a testament to the game's excellent quality. Furthermore, the way they contrast the humorous, satirical bits with the more serious, philosphical parts strengthens both aspects of the storyline. It's a delicate, dangerous balance, and Ape pulled it off.

I think, most importantly, is the game's sense of humanity. The humor added to this, most definitely, but so did Itoi's personal input. There was an actual person behind the game, and not some mysterious team of writers. It's immense personality was, above all else, what I believe made the story so memorable.

this is troof

which is why it seemed strange when i read somebody say that itoi might not be the one completely behind the new game

in all honestyearthbound hit on some philosophical themes that i had not come across in any medium anywhereliteraturefilmtvanything

seriouslyi might appreciate earthbound too much

likeif i was any younger than i ami would wear earthbound t-shirts and buy posters and shitand my name would be an earthbound reference

Not much of an update this week, but regardless, here is the world map of Mother 3. I don't believe this is the complete world map, but perhaps part of it, or maybe they aren't showing specific locations on the map, like towns and dungeons.

Itoi's words translated: "Welcome to the world of Mother 3! But just what kind of world is it? I won't say much. This is Mother 3's world map. I'm just repeating myself, but please have fun using your imagination."

New update this week. Here is the translated introduction of the first present:

"What you see walking in an ever-so-slightly cute fashion down below are the central characters of Mother 3. Their names are Lucas and Claus. They're twin brothers. Please say hello!"

Here are the pictures shown:

The text underneath him reads: "Younger twin brother; a gentle boy".

This is one of the central characters that we all know about already. I'm not sure if you'll be able to see the animation of him walking on the board, but he is animated on this picture. Anyway, it's been confirmed already that his name will be Lucas, one of the twin brothers from the EarthBound 64 story, so I would assume that the basic plot of EB64 has transferred to Mother 3.

This boy's name is Claus, as you can see, he looks the same as Lucas, only with orange hair, a different-colored striped shirt, orange pants, and blue shoes. Again, he's animated as well if it doesn't show on the post.

As a side note, Itoi has said that he got the idea for Lucas and Claus from a French book called 'The Notebook, The Proof, and the Third Lie'. In that story, there were twins called Lucas and Klaus. Perhaps the personalities of those twins in the book are present in the game.

The second present just has cellphone wallpapers exclusive to the Japanese cellphones.

First, we have the animated Flint sprite. The translated description under him reads:

"Gentle and strong. A dependable father."

Then we have Hinawa, the mother of the twins, and the wife of Flint. It's not known if she will be a playable character, though. Here is the translated description under her:

"The beloved mother!"

And last but not least, we have man's best friend. Boney is quickly becoming a favorite among fans, because people get nostalgic over King, the dog from EarthBound. Note, there was a spelling error for it's name originally, and people thought it was a different dog. Here is the translated description under it's name:

"Their courageous and smart dog!"

"*Apologies to the public. At first the dog was named Paw but that was a mistake. Its real name is Boney."

As always, until next week. I think next week's update will have animated sprites of the pink-haired girl and Duster.

Translated description: "The parent's source of power is the support it gets from the child. Despite being an enemy, it's somewhat admirable."

This is called Horsantula.

Translated description: "The kicks from each of its 8 legs are intense. Kicks from the 3rd leg from the left are especially W-Cup Class."

This is called Ostrelephant.

Translated description: "Is the long part a trunk or a neck? How doesit bathe? An utterly mysterious Chimera."

This is called Batangutan.

Translated description: "A strange creature that has a heavy head but not enough power in its wings. Watch out for fleas."

This is called Monkalrus.

Translated description: "Howls sadly when it sees the Batangutan with his head on it. They could wind up in a fight, too."

That's all of them. Is it just me, or do many of these sound (even look) like Mega Man X maverick names?

Also, interesting to note that in one of the descriptions, one of them is described as being a chimera, which is obvious, but this means that the chimera subtitle for EarthBound 64 seems likely now, at least as a theme in the game.

The second has two wallpapers, but they aren't anything special. Three more presents to go!

This week's update reveals /a lot/; more screen shots are shown, this time, the chapter system is officially announced, proving that much of EarthBound 64 is essentially in Mother 3. Let's get down to it; here is the introduction summary:

A surprising number of elements not found in previous Mother games have been incorporated into Mother 3. Fans of the series so far may be a little bewildered by them. For example, Mother 3 is divided into several chapters, in the fashion seen below.

Translated text describing a chapter: For example, in one chapter, sparks are flying for some reason...

Translated text describing a chapter: ...while there's a monkey in all sorts of locations in another chapter.

Translated text describing a chapter: There's an antiquated building in one chapter...

Translated text describing a chapter: ...and in another is a ropeway? A factory?

There appears to be many playable characters, combined in all the chapters, including a monkey! Another new feature of interest is the ability to do certain actions while moving about on screen, like swinging.

I'm most intrigued of Flint's chapter. It looks like it will be exciting, yet perhaps sad. Well, anywho, only one present remains, with 9 days remaining until the game releases in Japan.